Sergeant Responsible For Epic Humvee Free-Fall Fiasco Found Guilty

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The 173rd Airborne soldier charged with the spectacular destruction of three Humvees that plummeted from a C-130 Hercules during a 2016 training exercise in Germany in just been found guilty at court-martial of intentionally causing the mishap, the Army announced on Wednesday.

The charges: 29-year-old Sgt. John Skipper, a scout with the 173rd’s 1st Battalion, 91st Cavalry Regiment, was convicted of destroying military property and giving a false official statement.

The verdict: The jury found that Skipper “intentionally cut parachute straps on three Humvees,” according to Stars and Stripes. Skipper was sentenced to a bad-conduct discharge and reduction in rank to private. He was facing a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

The context: Skipper is the second soldier punished for his involvement in the incident, which occurred on April 11, 2016. A sergeant first class heard laughing in a famous video of the incident was punished with an administrative letter of reprimand.

The video: The video was uploaded to YouTube, where it’s racked up more than 1.4 million views. And with good reason: A Humvee can run as much as $200,000, but footage of three of them plunging to their doom from a C-130 is priceless.

See for yourself:

Adam Linehan is a senior staff writer for Task & Purpose. Between 2006-2012, he served as a combat medic in the U.S. Army, and is a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan.
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